Nice post John. Its interesting how some actors do great work but ultimately fade into obscurity, and others like Lorre, become iconic and live on forever on the strength of their personality, image and talent. He's etched in stone.

What a face. What a voice. He always seemed somewhat weary and laconic, til the moment he snapped and became instantly dangerous.

I can't think of any contemporary actor who fits that same bill. Can anyone else?

This scene, or even the whole movie, would illustrate another point you've made before: the difference between memorable voices and forgettable next-door neighbor voices. Bogart, Lorre, Greenstreet, Cook, and Astor are all like different instruments in a piece of music.

Notice how Greenstreet just steps back and gives Lorre the scene. A consummate, stage-trained actor himself, he doesn't do anything to "steal" from Lorre's performance in any way. He was probably directed by Huston to remain perfectly still - but even so, Greenstreet's generous instincts as an ensemble actor are apparent here. Just one of many reasons why he always worked beautifully with Lorre.

What a great segment of this blog. John K. is one of the best teacher's I've ever encountered. And even though I'm not a graphics artist, there's so much here that influences how I put my prose together.